Inmate who fled jail during Sandy nabbed

Philly Confidential

The last of Hurricane Sandy's jailbreakers has been caught.

Erik Gomez, 27, one of four inmates who walked out of a city prison during a hurricane-caused power outage Oct. 28, was arrested at a South Philadelphia eatery Saturday night without incident, said Lt. Sam Turner, of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania warrant unit.

No more margaritas for Erik Gomez

Warrant officers heard Gomez would be at a Mexican restaurant on Passyunk Avenue near Morris Street and set up surveillance there, Turner said. When Gomez entered the bar, the officers pounced and took him to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Turner said. The officers found drugs on him, so he's now charged with narcotics offenses, escape and conspiracy, Turner added.

Turner's unit also caught the other three escapees - Rafael Zayas, 34, Robert Collins, 22, and James Foulk, 25. The quartet were "low-custody" inmates jailed at the Community Education Center's Hoffman Hall, a subcontracted rehabilitative facility in North Philly that houses about 230 pre- and posttrial male drug offenders.

The escape - the city's first since 2010 - occurred when power went out for 10 minutes during the hurricane and the facility's backup generator failed. The doors, which operate electronically, unlocked, and the four just strolled out.